The future of messaging: Twilio's approach to Rich Communications Services (RCS)

The future of messaging: Twilio's approach to Rich Communications Services (RCS)

Are you ready to revolutionize your customer communication strategy? With Rich Communication Services (RCS) messaging, you can deliver engaging, app-like messaging experiences to your customers’ native texting inboxes. 

Although RCS has been around for most Google Android devices for some time, it’s at an inflection point with Apple announcing plans to support RCS soon for iOS devices. At Twilio, we’ve been rolling out RCS gradually for customers across our APIs so that as support expands globally, every business can benefit—automatically. 

Easily showcase branding with RCS messaging for free

With some providers, adopting and orchestrating a new channel means a customer will need to adopt a new API, which can require significant resourcing from developers. But not with Twilio. 

We wanted to make it very easy for customers to adopt RCS with Twilio from an implementation—and price—standpoint. So for those sending one-time password (OTP) verifications with Verify and those sending SMS messages up to 160 characters using Twilio’s Messaging API, we’ve made it a free upgrade. This means, for most Twilio Messaging customers already using our SMS services, no coding changes are needed to add branding to their messages.

While Twilio will automatically send RCS messages to RCS-capable devices, if a user’s device doesn’t support RCS messaging, then customers can enjoy a seamless fall back to SMS for message delivery. And if you are already using SMS-capable senders—such as phone numbers, short codes and alphanumeric senders—you can continue using these as fallback senders and simply upgrade the experience to RCS for your users who have RCS-capable devices.

Essentially, Twilio customers can use the same message crafted for SMS across a new channel. And as more RCS-enabled devices come into the market, you will easily get more RCS messages delivered without moving a finger. 

What will customers see with RCS messages from Twilio?

When businesses use RCS with Twilio, recipients can see the business name and logo that they are receiving a message from, as well as a shield or checkmark icon saying it's verified by a mobile carrier or Google. Plus, customers with access to RCS messaging from Twilio will be able to configure their branded profile in the Twilio console with a self-serve process starting in September.

That’s important, because our 2024 Twilio-sponsored consumer preferences survey of 3,900 global consumers found that: 

• 49% of consumers would trust brands “a lot more” if the business had a logo or check mark within a messaging or social channel—and it was even higher for millennials and Gen Z

• 75% of consumers who received a branded text said it increased their trust in the communication 

Additionally, when brands use trusted and verified communication channels:

• 1 in 4 purchased something for the very first time

•  4 in 10 consumers made a repeat purchase 

Ultimately, driving up consumer trust can also drive up customer engagement. And with branded RCS messages, businesses can capitalize on a verified communication channel to drive important business benefits. 

Enabling two-way communication also fosters a sense of personalized engagement. When customers can interact directly with businesses through RCS, they feel valued and heard, leading to stronger connections and increased trust. 

Also, since Twilio’s RCS messaging is already compatible with all Twilio-supported channels, it will display both “Delivered” and “Read” receipts, so you’ll know which specific messages were opened. You can also view the performance and distribution of RCS and SMS messages with Twilio’s Messaging Insights. 

Prioritizing functionality to support better customer experiences 

Here at Twilio, we’ve intentionally taken a phased approach to our rollout of RCS messaging for customers in order to ensure less time to value and optimal performance. That way, our customers can rest assured that all of our RCS features will work when they’re deployed on day one.

Additionally, while rich messaging deployments are important, they’re only fully effective when the majority of mobile devices are RCS capable. Otherwise, customers that devote a lot of time to building beautiful RCS messages may have to fall back on an SMS experience, which won’t have the same effect. 

We believe that once the global market reach for RCS exceeds 70%, building rich messaging deployments will be a more efficient use of developer resources and drive significant business impact for our customers. As adoption grows, Twilio’s support for RCS features will include:

• High-quality photos, videos, and GIFs

• Scrollable carousels

• Quick replies

• Call-to-action buttons, and more! 

All of these capabilities will make RCS chats more ubiquitous and engaging. After all, rich elements are an ideal way to capture more consumer attention, build deeper relationships, and increase conversions.

How can customers prepare for RCS support?

In the meanwhile, our customers can prepare for RCS support by taking the following steps.

1. Request access for RCS with Twilio’s Messaging API through this form
2. Design your RCS-branded Verified Sender profile in the Twilio Console and ensure your brand really shines within rich content messages
3. Twilio handles the required onboarding to ensure registration of a Verified Sender across regions, so be sure to complete the onboarding questionnaire and respond to any related communications to get your Verified Sender approved
4. Once your Verified Sender is approved and onboarded, select RCS as the Sender type to get started sending
5. Begin using the Twilio Content API if you’re not already, which will be used to create rich content for RCS once available
6. Stay up-to-date with announcements from Apple to see what their RCS support will look like for iPhone devices

Remember, rich content is omnichannel ready. So if you’re already sending messages to customers using WhatsApp, you will be able to repurpose the same content for RCS. So you can focus on sending RCS messages instead of dealing with ecosystem complexities.

Get access to RCS with Twilio today

Twilio is starting to provide early access to RCS in Twilio's Messaging API. Request access for RCS with Twilio’s Messaging API to enjoy RCS in your communications through this form. 

Once your request is granted, you’ll receive a notification to go to your Twilio Console and create your RCS Sender. Please note, access for Twilio customers will be provided as capacity allows.

With RCS messaging from Twilio, businesses can leverage branded communications to establish credibility, foster meaningful connections, and drive positive business outcomes. Engage with customers in a personalized, interactive, and trustworthy manner—ultimately contributing to long-term business success—using RCS with Twilio today.

Kathryn Murphy is Twilio’s Senior Vice President of Product and Design focused on Twilio's communications products. She brings over 20 years of experience in product management, design and engineering with deep domain expertise across retail, commerce, payments, customer data platforms, and multi-channel marketing.